Will humiliation in Myanmar help Cambodia distance itself from China?

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Cambodia’s strongman failed as a peacemaker there

HUN SEN likes doing things his own way. Cambodia’s prime minister has ruled the country for 37 years and counting. Satisfied with his own performance, he banned the main opposition party in 2017. In January he flew to Myanmar, deciding that he was the man to bring peace to that country, racked by war since the army seized power last year.

 

This did not go down well in the region. ASEAN, the club of South-East Asian countries to which Cambodia belongs, has a hallowed tradition of consensus, and last year decided to shun Myanmar’s junta. In 2022 Cambodia holds the bloc’s chair, which rotates annually. So the timing of Mr Hun Sen’s visit was unfortunate.

 

read more https://www.economist.com/asia/2022/02/26/will-humiliation-in-myanmar-help-cambodia-distance-itself-from-china